Chapter 141 CAMILLA’S P.O.V There was a palpable relief that could be felt by everyone once Alara was in the cells. For the next three days, there was nothing but peace and calmness. The pandemonium in the towns had been dispelled because everyone was sent copies of her transcripts. The people knew what she had done and they knew that Ryker was innocent. The truth was, | wasn’t as bothered by her alliance to the vampires as | should have been. Thinking back on it, it made a lot of sense. She was always sneaking around and in places where she shouldn't be.
| couldn’t believe | didn’t piece it together sooner. She must have been the one who told the people about what happened at the waterfall with Alastair. | was relieved to know that she had been caught but | was more relieved that Ryker was vindicated. | saw how the weight of the accusation was crushing him and | couldn't stand it. He was always helpingand | felt relieved that | was able to play a small part in helping him.
There was a visible spring in his step over the past two days. He seemed lighter and he spent more twith the girls. It was great seeing him happy and | couldn't help but share in his joy, that was why | didn’t tell him about my plans this morning. When | woke up, | simply told him that training might run a bit late. Alara’s execution was set for evening but | wanted the chance to speak to her before then. There was a lot | still didn’t understand.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtAfter an hour of training with Loris, | called an end to it. | didn’t even bother changing first before | made my way to the dungeons. If the guards were surprised to see me, they didn’t say a word. They just watchedcarefully as | made my way to the front of her cell. She looked like a mess with her red hair covered with dust and grand her pale grey dress.
She didn’t turn toas she spoke. “Have you cto gloat? Is seeingin a cell up to your standards? After this evening, | will be out of your hair.” “For someone who is about to die, you don’t sound very apologetic or worried. Why is that?” she finally turned toand | saw the guards clutch their weapons tighter but she wasn’t a threat. She was behind silver bars and was chained with silver. “Give us a minute.” They were stunned by my order. Even Alara was shocked because her brows rose so high that they disappeared behind her hairline. The guards hesitated for a second before nodding and exiting in a single file. Alara waited until the last of them had disappeared before she spoke.
“Is this your way of tellingthat | don’t scare you?” she drawled out, “I remember a twhen I did, | remember when | was the biggest problem in your life. It was a good [I 10:18 Wed, 21 Feb E Chapter 141 run.” <8 FD | ignored her taunt and made my way over to the bench that was close to the wall and sat down. Her eyes tracked my every movement with rapid attention. It was almost as if she expectedto hurt her and was trying to brace herself for it and | couldn't help but shake my head.
“I had no plans to hurt you, Alara, | am not you,” | told her and | saw relief flash across her features before she quickly masked it.
“I wasn’t worried about that. | don’t care if you put a spear through my heart right now.” “You can say that all you want but | know better, Alara. | didn’t chere to argue with you, | just have a few questions that | think you can helpanswer. If there is one thing | know, it is that you take pride in your brilliance. You could have easily gotten away with this but you didn’t. Why is that? Why did you ally yourself with the vampires in the first place?” “Flatteringwill get you nowhere,” she shrugged but | could see the small smile growing on her lips. “The only reason you were able to getwas because | made the mistake of telling you where | actually cfrom. | suppose a part ofhoped that something bad would cout of your meeting and you would end up wiping the pack. | miscalculated because | was in a panic.”.
| sighed. “Let’s make a deal, Alara. | know you don’t want to die and | can make your death as painless as possible. If you tellwhat | need to know then | will ensure that it is over within seconds.” | saw her debate it for a minute before turning away. I let out a sigh of defeat. | actually hoped that she was going to agree but since she didn’t, | stood to my feet and prepared to leave. | had just gotten to the door when she finally spoke.
“Fine, but this is happening on my terms.” | tried to hide my excitement as | made my way back to the bench. She wasn’t looking atand | wasn’t sure if it was to hide her emotions or just because she could. Alara enjoyed power games and with her, it was sometimes hard to know where you stood.
“I wasn’t born in that town. | got there when | was eighteen. My parents were deadbeats who didn’t deserve to be parents. When | was six, they droppedoff in front of a vampire cave to be killed. Alastair foundand tookin. He always toldhow much potential 1 had and he raised me. No matter how much | begged, he wouldn't turnbut once | was old enough, he helpedkill my birth parents. It was the best moment of my life. | was sixteen then and Alastair made love toin the living room right next to their dead bodies.” | didn’t know what | was expecting but that wasn’t it. My mouth fell open in horror and ISTA 111 [e] Chapter 141 89% FD | was grateful she couldn't see my face because she would have definitely stopped her story.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm“You were a child and he practically raised you.” She turned toso | could see her roll her eyes. “He didn’t groomif that is what you think. | was old enough to know what | wanted and if you're going to make assumptions about my life then we might as well just end the story right here.” | knew that whatever he had done had tainted her for life and there was nothing | could do about it so | nodded.
As much as | knew the story would disgust me, | was prepared to listen to it in its entirety. When she saw that | wasn't attacking Alastair anymore, she continued.
“When | turned eighteen, he toldthat it was dangerous forto be with the vampires and he convincedto move into that town. He picked my victims for me, he chose men who had wronged him in the past and my job was to seduce them and create a path for him to kill them. It was very easy and | was good at my job. No one could pin it on me. | was having the tof my life until he askedto chere. | suppose you already know the rest of what happened. He tried to get you as revenge for what your father did to him but you managed to best him. I'm surprised.” “You're not pis sed that | killed your lover?” | asked slowly and she shook her head. “Why not? He was your first love?” “I outgrew Alastair,” she said simply. “Ryker was supposed to be another target but there was something about him. He was the only person who didn’t look atlike a prized cow. He didn’t look atas something to be won. He didn’t immediately want to have sex withand | loved that, | craved it even. | knew | had to have him and more so, | knew that you didn’t deserve him.” She spat the last words like a curse and | flinched from the sheer violence of her words.
“When Alastair died, | figured it was my chance to get him to myself.” “You failed,” | deadpanned and she shrugged. “For what it is worth, Alara, | think you have been dealt a terrible hand at life. You grew up with the wrong people but that is no excuse for what you did. | want nothing more than to take you off the execution list and try to rehabilitate you but I cannot guarantee that you will not try this again.” “Letmake this easy for you, | will,” she stated it simply. “There is no changing me, this is who | am. Now, if you are done bothering me, | would like to get srest before my execution. Even if | am dying, | need to look good.” | was shocked that anyone could be this dismissive but there was nothing | could do except honor her wishes because she had once again turned her back to me. | slowly made my way out not really understanding what had happened. | was so distracted that 111 [e] 10:19 Wed, 21 Feb Chapter 141 89% | didn’t realize Ryker was at the top of the steps and | bumped into him. | would have fallen backwards if he didn’t reach out to wrap his arms around my waist. | grasped onto his shoulders for dear life.
FD “Are you alright?” he asked and | nodded. “I was told that you were with her. Did she say anything to you? Did she do anything?” | shook my head but he wasn’t convinced. “Are you sure? Why did you go? Why didn’t you tellthat you were going?” “Relax,” | ordered and | waited until he had taken a deep breath. “I wanted to know sthings and only she could tell me. | didn’t want her story to die with her.” He narrowed his eyes at me. “You've always been kinder than the rest of us. What did she say?” “Ill tell you, but not here. | don’t want to spend any more tthan | need to. | want to be with you in our space, does that make sense?” His featured softened and he leaned down to kiss my forehead. “Of course, baby, cwith me. | know the perfect place for us.”